What made you join Villa Primrose for the Interclubs?
It’s been three years since Jean-Baptiste (Perlant, club director) talked to me about it. I wasn’t far away each time but I was still on the tour. Here I am in my final year, whether it was now or not. Primrose is a historic club in France that I appreciate. I won the Challenger there in 2010. When I was 13-14, I played in the senior Christmas tournament there too, I was 2/6. I have always felt a nice atmosphere here. I wouldn’t have gone anywhere to play the team games one last time.
When you were still at the amateur level, at home in Sérignan (Hérault), you enjoyed this atmosphere of the team competitions…
It makes me happy to find this atmosphere again, it has been a long time, about twenty years. It’s strange to play for a club again, it’s almost a new experience. When you’re a kid, you love playing for your club. Returning to Primrose for the Interclubs, it’s a trip down memory lane.
You announced your future retirement a few hours before Rafael Nadal. Is it happiness to finally be beaten, he who always beats you?
It is still unlikely that it will be released on the same day. We felt it was going to happen because he wasn’t in competitions after the Olympics. We’ve known each other since we were young, and after 22 years of playing on the tour together, we’re only likely to be doing this a few hours apart. I found out a few minutes before he officially announced it.
Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had very good rounds, at Bercy for one, Roland-Garros for the other. In a perfect world, what setting do you envision for your final Roland?
Above all, you don’t want to get hurt. Jo had a series of problems at the end of his career and managed a very good match against Ruud (6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 7-6), Gilles Bercy was also very good with beating Murray, Fritz …I really want to stay in shape so I can enjoy my last one and give it my all. I think there will be people on Roland’s big court with my loved ones in the stands. I really want it to be a nice party for me.
Passing the first round, like this year, against Borna Coric (7-6, 7-6, 6-4) with a big feeling on Lenglen, will you sign?
Ah yes to a large extent! It’s not bad to win a match now, I didn’t win much in the main round. And the atmosphere at Lenglen was crazy, I had more support and congratulations after the match than when I played in the semi-final at Wimbledon. In fact it is very paradoxical.
Surely, the French public did not underestimate your performances with Tsonga, Monfils and Simon, who were all in the top 10, in an era where Nadal, Djokovic and Federer were winning all anything?
There’s always been this debate about the fact that we’ve never won a Grand Slam. Our generation was beautiful but entered an unprecedented era of tennis. It was an opportunity and also a responsibility. At the beginning of the 2000s, before we arrived, the place was there when we see Gaston Gaudio who wins Roland-Garros. He is a very good player but he is not Nadal. When I play all three of them in Grand Slams, it’s against Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. My first one at Wimbledon in 2007, in the locker room, there were four of us: me and them. It is not easy to see yourself as a winner at the end. Today, reaching the final is a little easier with the example of Alcaraz who lost very early at the US Open.
When you look back on your career, what are you most proud of?
I gave everything I had and I never left that passion. This is what allowed me to go the distance and remain among the best in the world for years. When you are young, you dream about this role while watching TV. I was living this dream of playing the biggest players on the biggest courts.
In ten years, when we talk about Richard Gasquet, what would you like people to remember about you?
We also make fun for the public. I hope that I created a feeling in them, that people say that I made them happy, that they remember my best games. Without them, there is no tennis. Then there’s my back too. Having a technical perspective is beneficial. This is also what I want us to remember.
“In the corridor that led down to the court, I experienced a moment ten times greater than I had ever experienced.”
Which player did you enjoy playing against?
(Undoubtedly) Roger Federer! When you see it with the technical ease, the ease of it, even if it wasn’t, it was unique. It was 1,000 leagues from the others. Federer is something amazing.
Which season did you feel the strongest?
In 2015, I made the semifinals at Wimbledon, the semifinals at the US Open and the next year, the semifinals at Roland Garros. During this time, I could see myself going for this first Grand Slam final. At Roland in 2016, I lost my semi-final against Murray (5-7, 7-6, 6-0, 6-2), Wawrinka was behind me, the final was within my access. I missed this little trick to achieve this. I didn’t manage to make this turn against the best… That will always be a regret.
What is the hottest feeling you have experienced?
From afar, it was in the Lille stadium, in the Davis Cup final against Switzerland in 2014. Frankly, it was crazy. Jo (Tsonga) warned me that the public was hot with many Swiss supporters. I remember we lost 2-1 and I had to face Federer on Sunday. And there, in the corridor that led down to the court, I experienced a moment ten times higher than anything I have ever experienced. There were 28,000 people, it was unprecedented. This is Chatrier’s double at Roland-Garros.
Richard Gasquet, Tuesday morning, at Villa Primrose.
GUILLAUME BONNAUD/SO
What will you miss on tour?
The audience and the adrenaline it provides. The pre-match, the stands shaking scenes and the interaction with the supporters. But I’ve been through all that for over twenty years. I have no regrets about that, I played tennis at a high level for more than half of my life.
Do you have a fairly clear idea of your career afterwards?
Helping young people has always been close to my heart. I speak mainly with the president Gilles Moretton, the senior director Ivan Ljubicic. I have the experience and I know what to do, and especially not to do. We made mistakes, especially with the expectations around me when I was very young. I think I can save time for the French youth. I am happy to see that Sons (20 years old), Mpetshi (21 years old) are already winning big competitions, like Humbert (26 years old) in front of them, who is a little older.
Lancer Primrose
The match. Five months after his last match on clay, Richard Gasquet will return to ora, this Wednesday (1pm, free entry) in Bordeaux, for the 2nd day of the Interclubs. “I arrived in Bordeaux on Monday, I have two training sessions for rehabilitation,” he explained on Tuesday, before his second session. After a draw in Annecy (3-3), without him, Villa Primrose owes his new director his first victory in Group A against TC Paris, another historic French club.
2024-11-12 16:23:00
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